POSTAL CUSTOMER
Volume III, Issue 12
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit #36 OMAHA, NE
December 2009
Toys for big and little boys…and girls Farm toy shows attract buyers and lookers for many reasons by Gordon Wolf The unseasonably late harvest has not stopped people from doing some Christmas-time toy shopping. And in an area as agriculturally centered as western Iowa, what’s more popular than farm toys. The appeal of farm toys is evident, based on the buyers and lookers at the 23rd annual Ron Kuhlmann Memorial Farm Toy Show at the Charter Oak Community Building on Sunday, December 6. All types of farm toys in sizes from big to small filled the vendors’ tables and displays while buyers roamed the aisles. Ron Kuhlmann and Kevin Pester started the farm toy show 23 years ago as a fundraiser for the Charter Oak centennial celebration. After the centennial, Kuhlmann and Pester wanted the show to continue so they gave it over to the Charter Oak-Ute FFA. The FFA chapter and the Charter Oak Boosters 4-H Club now jointly organize and run the show. People attend the annual farm toy show for many reasons. Some
Agronomists compare 2009 harvest to other challenging years....Page 6
buy Christmas gifts. Others look for that unique farm toy to add to their collection. And still others search for the scale model of the tractor they operated years ago on the farm. Beryl Garret of Dunlap attended the show with his son Steve and grandson Alex of Charter Oak. Beryl was busy looking through books of old farm equipment. He used to work at a John Deere dealership in Charter Oak and at an International dealership in Dow City. He said curiosity brought him to the show. “I still like old tractors,” Beryl stated and added, “I’m reminiscing. I grew up with an A model John Deere on the farm.” Grandson Alex said he was looking for something that would catch his eye to add to his collection. He rattled off a list of farm toys that are a part of his collection, including a Case steam engine. The collection, and the reminiscing, does not stop at toy farm equipment. Alex shared that he restored the 1947 Minneapolis Moline U that has been in the Garrett family ever since it came off the assembly line. Steve Garrett explained that the tractor was shipped by rail from the factory to Denison. He later bought the Minneapolis Moline U from his grandfather’s estate.
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Knoxville woman produces artisan goat cheeses....Page 7
The Farmer’s Wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Futures Market Commentary . . . .14 Classified Advertising . . . . . . . . . .30